Wisenet Smartcam D1 review | TechHive

If you’re considering a video doorbell,
you need to take a look at the Wisenet Smartcam D1. The Smartcam D1 is a modern-looking wired
doorbell, which means you need existing doorbell wiring to power it, and it connects to the
Internet via WiFi. What I like best about this doorbell is the
video image. It’s sharp and clear, unlike the somewhat
mediocre video from other cameras. In fact, I’d say the video is equal to Nest
Hello, a current TechHive editors choice. It shows 4:3 aspect ratio video at 1600 by
1200 pixels. That’s narrower than HD but more horizontal
lines – the same resolution coincidentally as Nest Hello, which might be a reason they
are both so good. If we zoom in on this image, you’ll see
it still remains relatively sharp despite being a digital zoom. Inside the app, you’ll find this doorbell
provides more settings and adjustments than many competing products. Users can adjust the brightness, manually
control nightvision — this is on and this is off — the dynamic range and even switch
on and off lens distortion. Take a look at this video and you’ll see
why a wide-dynamic range on a camera is important for a better picture. It’s probably more control than most people
need, but it’s nice to have in there. Detection can be based on movement, with up
to three motion zones, and sound, listening for people talking, glass breaking or sirens. And when it detects something, you can choose
to get an app alert, an email or both. So far so good. So what of the complaints? My biggest is the facial recognition alerts. The idea is solid: When it notices someone
it snaps a picture of their face and then watches for them again. You can label them too so, say, you can get
a special alert if, say, the mailman comes to your door or quickly figure out what time
your kids got home last night. But in two weeks of testing, it managed to
alert me just three times and one of those was a hub cap on a car. I found the system just didn’t work reliably
enough. It never spotted me, despite going in and
out of the house multiple times and sometimes posing for it. I found the app a little difficult to navigate
and connecting to the doorbell takes just a second or two longer than some I’ve tested. The camera does a better than average job
of ignoring cars and passers by, but sometimes I got alerts for cars. That’s quite common with all motion detection
systems, but the system also classified them as human detection. And here’s another “human” alert I got. The basic unit comes with three faceplates,
black, gold and silver, and setting it up is fairly easy but didn’t come without a
problem for me. My phone, a Samsung Note 8, didn’t manage
the WiFi Direct link for set up no matter how much I tried. Customer support advised trying another phone
and sure enough it worked. You’ll have to pay for cloud video storage,
as is increasingly common these days. The basic plan provides 30 days of storage,
which should be enough for most, and costs $5 per month or $50 per year. If you have other Wisenet cameras, subsequent
subscriptions are half price. That price plan is the same as Nest’s cheapest
plan, but offers longer storage. The unit is made by Hanwha Techwin, that’s
probably not a company you’ve heard of. It used to be Samsung Techwin, until it was
sold in 2015. It’s a big maker of security and surveillance
systems, and Wisenet is its range of consumer products. TechHive rated the Wisenet Smartcam D1 4 out
of 5 and it’s an Editor’s Choice.